


Love Really Hurts Without You

by aqua_relle



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Boys Kissing, Fluff, Getting Together, Grand Romantic Gestures, Killua POV, Love Confessions, M/M, minor killugon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:55:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29414478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aqua_relle/pseuds/aqua_relle
Summary: “So, long story short,”Someone started hitting a tambourine.One two, one two.“Kurapika, this is for you.”-OR Gon and Killua get dragged into Leorio's confession to Kurapika in front of their entire high school.Heavily based on the Netflix show "Sex Education".
Relationships: Gon Freecs & Kurapika & Leorio Paladiknight & Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	Love Really Hurts Without You

“Hey Killua, look, what’s going on over there?” 

Killua, who was deeply absorbed in his messy sketch of a sleeping cat, looked up to Gon with a questioning gaze.

“Look,” he said again, pointing insistently at the people entering the cafeteria. 

The doorframe could be seen across the hall, directly opposite of the library window the two freshmen were facing. By leaning on the counter and tilting his chin up a little, Killua could see a crowd had started forming in the cafeteria. The excited chatter wouldn’t normally warrant his attention, however there seemed to be something different about the atmosphere, the familiar buzz of gossip filling the air.

_‘There’s drama happening,’_ Killua thought as he snapped his sketchbook shut.

As if on cue, an announcement rang over the intercom* system of Heaven’s Arena High School:

“All Junior and Senior students come to the cafeteria, your favourite representative on council needs you!”

As the voice abruptly blipped out, Killua and Gon looked at each other in surprise.

“Was that Leorio?” the white haired boy asked.

“I think so! Let’s go see!” Gon exclaimed.

“But they said only sophomores and juniors.”

“So?” 

The familiar glint in his honey brown eyes told Killua that Gon was not going to let this go. He had to admit that he was quite curious as well, so he let himself be dragged out of the library by his best friend, feet barely dragging on the squeaky floor. 

Getting through the mob was another story entirely though: since most kids were older than they were, they were also taller, forcing them to beat out their own path. While they had been the same height when they met, Gon had gradually gotten a few inches taller than Killua. Upon that realization, he decided Killua needed protecting (even if he was perfectly good at defending himself, thank you very much). 

So, Gon’s hand enveloped Killua’s as they made it through the crowd. He knew that it was so they wouldn’t lose each other, but it still made the white haired freshman’s ears turn red from embarrassment 

(and possibly because said freshman had also developed quite the crush on his best friend, but that’s another issue entirely). 

Eventually they made it to the front of the crowd, Gon immediately letting go of Killua’s hand.

“Leorio!” The green haired boy exclaimed, making his way towards the center of the clearing.

Killua took a moment to situate himself: in the clear space the high schoolers were gathered around, he recognized Melody and a few other band club members standing around and fidgeting with their instruments. A round table was in the middle, with the tall raven haired senior in question leaning against it, tapping his foot frantically as he looked out into the crowd. 

When Gon appeared, his nervous expression softened considerably, which was understandable since the enthusiastic freshman was quite the ray of sunshine.

Still confused, the white haired boy followed closely behind his friend trying to deduce what exactly the old man was planning. Not only was this disrupting school hours (and he was the student council vice president for god’s sake!), but he looked uncharacteristically timid, which was… kind of weird (not that Killua was CONCERNED or anything!).

When Killua finally tuned into the conversation, the other two boys seemed to be deliberating about something already.

“... don’t know, maybe this was a bad idea,” Leorio said to Gon, eyes darting through the crowd.

“It’s normal to be nervous!” Gon said, smiling up to his tall friend. 

“Yeah, yeah.”

“It’s gonna be great Leorio! He will say yes for sure!”

“Okay excuse me, do either of you two want to fill me in on what’s going on here?” Killua spoke in an irritated tone, impatient and feeling excluded. 

“Leorio and I planned something for someone special!” Gon replied, practically beaming.

“Better not be anything perverted, old man,” Killua rolled his eyes.

“Hey, I told you to stop calling me that! And god no!...uh…”

“Spit it out,” Killua sighed, “By the looks of it you gotta do this thing soon.”

“He’s not even here yet though,” Gon turned to the crowd.

“For fuck’s sake, who the HELL are you talking abo-”

“Kurapika! Okay! Jeez,” Leorio cut him off, hands waving frantically, “Keep your voice down you little demon child!”

Killua stared blankly at both of the spiky haired guys before him.

“What?”

“Leorio is asking Kurapika out!” 

“Really?” he scoffed, “About fucking time.”

“Killua!” Gon whined.

“Yeah, I’d made up my mind I was gonna do it for a while, but just wasn’t sure how...” Leorio trailed off.

“So, I suggested he do what they do in movies and tv shows and stuff! It always works! Isn’t it a good plan Killua?” Gon exclaimed seemingly all in one breath. 

Killua, who had been smug just a few moments ago was now completely speechless. “ _NO!_ ” he wanted to yell in both teen’s faces, “ _THIS IS A SHITTY STUPID PLAN!_ ”. If Killua knew at least one thing about Kurapika it’s that, while he is not particularly shy, he HATES being the centre of attention. Plus, for all the conversations they’ve had about film, Kurapika also hates “ _those shitty rom-com men_ ” with their “ _disgusting grand romantic displays_ ”. He would be absolutely MORTIFIED by this, and despite his long standing big fat crush on the other man, the blonde might actually turn Leorio down because of the ridiculous nature of this confession. 

Killua can’t say he wasn’t looking forward to the second-hand embarrassment either. It was Kurapika’s fault for flirting with this stupid himbo who _of course_ had gone to their equally socially inept green friend for advice! 

“Anyways, Leorio you should have told me you were doing it today, I totally would have helped!” Gon was practically dancing around Leorio in excitement. 

“Sorry kid, it was an impulse decision,” Leorio mumbled apologetically, ruffling his hair.

“ _Clearly_ ,” Killua groaned.

For the first time since this conversation had started, Killua turned around to the crowd behind them. It had definitely grown in size since they’d started talking to Leorio. A few teachers had appeared to assess the situation, but it was clear that they were having a hard time getting control of the situation. 

“Oh my god, _ohmygod_ ,” Leorio suddenly whispered, looking past the two boys, “It’s happening.”

Both freshmen gave him a puzzled look, but Killua clued in pretty quickly.

“Kurapika’s here Gon, let’s go,” Killua tugged on the other’s uniform.

“Okay! You got this Leorio!” Gon raised his thumb in encouragement. 

“Good luck, old man.”

Leorio’s face seemed to relax momentarily at his friend’s encouragement as they left.

Gon and Killua made their way back to join the crowd, and for their second convenient coincidence of the day, bumped right into Kurapika who had made it to the front as well. 

“What’s that idiot doing up there?”

Before either boys had time to reply, a resounding screech emanated from the small speakers that had been installed in each corner of the cafeteria. Killua looked up at the towering man.

(Why he felt the need to stand on a table when he was 6’4 - already hard to miss when he was ground level - Killua would never know). 

“Hello everyone,” Leorio said shakily into his microphone, “Thank you all for coming.”

He took another breath, and seemed to notice that everyone was craning their necks more than usual. With another huff, Leorio hopped off the table, seemingly opting for a shorter plastic chair instead. 

“I know this is disrupting class, but, hey, it’s just your education right?” he seemed to be somewhat back to his charismatic, humorous self. The crowd laughed with him.

“There’s someone in this room that is very special to me,” he continued, “And no, it’s not you Mr. Netero.” 

‘ _Here we go_ ,’ Killua thought, covering his face with his hands, fingers separated to peer through. 

“This person is pretty damn incredible. He’s one of a kind.”

And then the lanky senior pointed directly at Kurapika, who’s eyes widened in surprise. The blonde immediately looked away in a panic. Following his line of sight, Killua could tell that Kurapika had spotted his best friend behind the tall man, holding her flute. He must have shot her a confused look, because Melody simply winked back and gestured for him to look back at Leorio. 

“I’ve known him since he first arrived here. We don’t always get along, but he’s always there for me no matter what. I’ve been an idiot, too afraid to admit how I felt.”

“So, long story short,”

Someone started hitting a tambourine. 

_One two, one two._

“Kurapika, this is for you.”

Soon the other instruments joined in: guitar, saxophone, trombone and the faintest hint of flute. Sneaking a quick glance at Kurapika, Killua noticed that his face had gone completely red with either embarrassment or rage. Or both. The blonde was probably blushing with his entire body, which Killua could understand since he was already feeling pretty mortified in his place. 

“ _You walk like a dream and you make like you're king of the action_

_You're using ev'ry trick in the book the way that you look_

_You're really something to see._ ”

Okay, so Leorio was a better singer than Killua had expected, however the song choice did make him cringe. Not only was it old (like the old man himself HAH), but the lyrics didn’t sound particularly lovey dovey. The white haired boy was still waiting for Kurapika to storm out, but the junior had stayed firmly planted in his spot, frozen, as his peers parted around him in a semi-circle, giving him his own little clearing. Everyone was clapping along to the beat and staring at the blonde who only had eyes for Leorio. 

Gon nudged Killua with his elbow, prompting him to join in the clapping. Killua hesitantly brought his hands together, but couldn’t help smiling at his friend.

‘ _At least Gon seems to be having fun._ ’

_“You cheat and you lie to impress any guy that you fancy,_

_But don't you know I'm out of my mind, so give me a sign_

_And help to ease the pain inside me._ ”

The encouraging hoots and hollers from his peers and teachers seemed to do wonders for Leorio’s ego, making him brave enough to finally jump off the plastic chair and approach Kurapika. Several people, including Gon, cheered even louder at the bold move. Kurapika seemed to have regained a certain awareness of his surroundings and was as stiff as a board, eyes darting around the room, seemingly undecided between giving in to the warm atmosphere of the cafeteria or finding the nearest escape. 

_“Baby, love really hurts without you,_

_Love really hurts without you,_

_And it's breaking my heart,_

_But what can I do, baby,”_

However, as Leorio slowly got closer and closer to Kurapika, the blonde didn’t make any move to step back. Instead a small smile formed on his lips, making Leorio blush. His voice had been surprisingly stable until now, becoming a little wobbly as he sang the rest of the chorus. 

_“Love really hurts without you,_

_Love really hurts through and through”_

“I think it’s working!” Gon yelled over the sound, “It’s working Killua!”

The white-haired freshman had to acknowledge that Kurapika finally seemed to have come around,

_“And it's breaking my heart”_

but next sight made Killua feel like he was actually watching one of those said romantic comedies Kurapika apparently didn’t despise so much. 

_But what can I do without you._ ” 

Leorio had barely finished signing the last word of the chorus, when the short blond tugged hard at his tie and kissed him square on the mouth. Despite the initial display, the kiss didn’t last very long, only a chaste press of lips. 

From Killua’s spot in the front row he watched as Kurapika smirked up to his partner, gesturing to the exit. Leorio only had eyes for Kurapika as he nodded and followed him out, presumably to have a talk about what had just happened. The crowd’s cheers echoed in the cafeteria room as they separated to let the (presumably) new couple walk by.

“I’m so happy it worked!” Gon exclaimed. 

As people started to leave the cafeteria, Killua felt the knot in his stomach finally loosen. He hadn’t realized how nervous he had been for both Kurapika and Leorio throughout this entire ordeal. 

“Yeah, the old man really pulled it off,” which was Killua’s way of saying ‘yeah me too’. 

The pair of freshmen slowly filed out of the room with the rest of the students, some teacher was yelling at them that “Show’s over” and “Get back to class!”, but it didn’t seem to have much of an effect. A joyous atmosphere floated through the room as if Christmas had come early. Even Killua felt it as he walked side by side with Gon who seemed to be talking about getting a congratulatory gift for Kurapika and Leorio.

“It’s not like they got married Gon,” Killua remarked. 

“Yeah, but happiness is always worth celebrating!” he affirmed. 

‘If that’s always true, I’d celebrate every day I spend with you’ Killua wanted to say. 

Instead, he simply looked up to his friend with a small smile and shrugged.

“I guess so.”

Gon smiled back at Killua and in that moment Killua understood Leorio’s song choice. 

Because, as sappy as it might be, Killua had to admit that love would really hurt without Gon.

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the scene from Sex Education I am referencing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK19w-1yc84
> 
> And here is Billy Ocean's "Love Really Hurts Without You": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5uMOOQ6MV0
> 
> I have no idea what compelled me to write this but anyways I love the main four so much and absolutely need more content so I wrote my own lmao.


End file.
